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- Cerebral Palsy takes center stage
Cerebral Palsy takes center stage
On the 28 and 29th of October 2011 a Cerebral Palsy Workshop was held in Bloemfontein on the campus of the University of the Free State under the auspices of PANDA (Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Association) and SANDTA (South African Neurodevelopmental Therapy Association).
The meeting was attended by over three hundred delegates including therapists, medical specialists, psychologists and dieticians. The idea of the workshop was to apply a truly multi-disciplinary approach as it would be applicable in the care and management of children with cerebral palsy.
We had two distinguished guests from overseas, Prof Alec Hoon from John Hopkins University School of Medicine and Director of the Phelps Center for Cerebral Palsy and Neurodevelopmental Medicine at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. He was a very generous guest who discussed many issues regarding pathogenesis of cerebral palsy, plasticity, diagnosis and evaluation and the use of neuro-imaging techniques.
In the true spirit of PANDA and the developing ACNA (African Child Neurology Association) the other invited speaker was from Egypt. We were delighted to host
Dr Walid Ahmed Abdel Ghany, who is a consultant neurosurgeon and a lecturer in neurosurgery and functional surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery and Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He was able to share his experience in the field of cerebral palsy in Egypt.
Other topics that were covered varied from the physiology of spasticity, new classifications of cerebral palsy as well as the medical management of spasticity and dystonia. There were also updates of visual problems, feeding challenges and the latest in treatment for hemiplegia. Other issues that were explored included conveying difficult information to families, psychiatric co-morbidities in cerebral palsy, and also a very important talk about what works best in resource poor areas.
The second day was mostly dedicated to orthopaedic and neurosurgical issues in cerebral palsy as well as a look at the evidence base for some new interventions, as well as medical legal reporting and life expectancy in these patients. Issues of botox, and rhizotomy were also discussed in depth.
This was the first combined meeting arranged with the medical fraternity and the therapists and it was a great success. No one was obsessed about there turf and there was a general sense of sharing and taking part-responsibility for the management of these children with cerebral palsy.
We were also delighted to be able to host Dr. Angelina Kakooza from Uganda who currently is helping to arrange the Epilepsy in Africa meeting in February 2012. She also presented a poster at this meeting.
It is obvious that such an important topic should have a multi-disciplinary approach and these combined and inter-disciplinary meetings have a lot to contribute. A decision was made at this meeting that cerebral palsy should be revisited every few years and if it is at all possible PANDA will take on that responsibility.
Prof Andre Venter
Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician
Head of Paediatrics, Bloemfontein
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The meeting was attended by over three hundred delegates including therapists, medical specialists, psychologists and dieticians. The idea of the workshop was to apply a truly multi-disciplinary approach as it would be applicable in the care and management of children with cerebral palsy.
We had two distinguished guests from overseas, Prof Alec Hoon from John Hopkins University School of Medicine and Director of the Phelps Center for Cerebral Palsy and Neurodevelopmental Medicine at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. He was a very generous guest who discussed many issues regarding pathogenesis of cerebral palsy, plasticity, diagnosis and evaluation and the use of neuro-imaging techniques.
In the true spirit of PANDA and the developing ACNA (African Child Neurology Association) the other invited speaker was from Egypt. We were delighted to host
Dr Walid Ahmed Abdel Ghany, who is a consultant neurosurgeon and a lecturer in neurosurgery and functional surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery and Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He was able to share his experience in the field of cerebral palsy in Egypt.
Other topics that were covered varied from the physiology of spasticity, new classifications of cerebral palsy as well as the medical management of spasticity and dystonia. There were also updates of visual problems, feeding challenges and the latest in treatment for hemiplegia. Other issues that were explored included conveying difficult information to families, psychiatric co-morbidities in cerebral palsy, and also a very important talk about what works best in resource poor areas.
The second day was mostly dedicated to orthopaedic and neurosurgical issues in cerebral palsy as well as a look at the evidence base for some new interventions, as well as medical legal reporting and life expectancy in these patients. Issues of botox, and rhizotomy were also discussed in depth.
This was the first combined meeting arranged with the medical fraternity and the therapists and it was a great success. No one was obsessed about there turf and there was a general sense of sharing and taking part-responsibility for the management of these children with cerebral palsy.
We were also delighted to be able to host Dr. Angelina Kakooza from Uganda who currently is helping to arrange the Epilepsy in Africa meeting in February 2012. She also presented a poster at this meeting.
It is obvious that such an important topic should have a multi-disciplinary approach and these combined and inter-disciplinary meetings have a lot to contribute. A decision was made at this meeting that cerebral palsy should be revisited every few years and if it is at all possible PANDA will take on that responsibility.
Prof Andre Venter
Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician
Head of Paediatrics, Bloemfontein
Read More